Orionmon the hunter
by Miyo86
Summary: GaP( Gabumon and Palmon pairing) alert! Ever wondered why,we saw an Koromon village, a Yokomon village, but never a Tsnumon village? A very unpleasant digimon from Gabumon's past returns, and with it, come the repercussions of revealing history.
1. Runaway

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, except for the one's I make up. Man, writing these things gets tiring after a while. Do you think anyone would REALLY care if we just stopped?

ORIONMON: The Hunter

The digidestined trudged diligently through the forest, feet scraping the dust along the barren trail. The Dark masters were at large, keeping everyone on their toes. They had recently defeated one of them, MetalSeadramon, and they were now in search of Puppetmon. As the group passed through an area of dense foliage, two tawny eyes appeared, staring at the end of the line, where Matt and Gabumon were walking. "Soon…"was all it as it disappeared into the shadows.

The soothing sound of a harmonica playing lulled the digidestined into a gentle slumber. Matt was on first watch that night and had been staring into the flames until he heard a rustling in the bushes. "Hello?" he asked, getting up from the fire. The blonde walked towards the shrub and was pushed backwards as a figure erupted from the bushes. "Hey guys, we've got company!" Matt yelled, scrambling back to the camp, the creature at his heels. 

Running into the firelight of the camp, the person was revealed. He was humanoid in shape, but was taller than any human. The weapon he carried was a large spear, and what looked like a Garurumon skin, hung over his right shoulder. His face was almost completely obscured by his helmet.

"Who are you?" Tai said, standing in front of the group. " I am Orionmon, but that is none of your concern. Give me who I need and I'll be on my way." "Wha…? Who are you looking for?" Tai asked. Orionmon started to get angry. "Give him to me!" "Look mister I think you've got us confused with someone else," Tai said nervously. " Insolent fool! I know exactly who you are. Now give me the one I am after or I will use force." Orionmon declared.

Puzzled silence. "All right, have it your way. Lion's Spear!" he shouted as he sent a beam of light towards them. "That's it." Tai said, getting out of the way of the beam. "Agumon 

digivolve!" (I'm to lazy to do digivolution scenes, so he's Greymon now, 'k? get it, got it, good.)

A huge orange dinosaur stood where Agumon had only moments ago. "Nova Blast!" Orionmon didn't even move as the attack drew nearer. Then, when it seemed collision was inevitable, he threw up his spear, cutting the attack in half. "Impressive. But try this on for size" He said, firing another bolt. After a few minutes of battle, things started looking bad for Greymon. "He needs our help" Matt said. "Gabumon digi…."He stopped short, realizing his digimon was no where to be seen. "Where did he go?"

"Well this has all been very fun, but I really MUST be going," Orionmon said, dodging another fireball. "But hear this my prey! I WILL return and you will not escape. "With that he turned and galloped back into the dark. "Well that was odd," Tai said as Agumon de-digivolved. "Tell me about it." They didn't have long to ponder, however, because they soon heard the Matt calling. 

"Gabumon!" He yelled as he walked to the edge of the forest. "Oh, Gabumon! Where are you?!" Now he was starting to get slightly worried. His digimon almost never left his side, except maybe to find food or use the restroom. Now he'd been gone for nearly half an hour." Hey Matt, what's up?" Tai asked, coming over. "It's Gabumon." he said with a slightly concerned tone. "He's missing."

* Later*

The group had decided to split in to 4 search parties, hoping to find Gabumon. Tai and Sora, Tk and Kari were two groups along with Joe and Izzy, Matt and Mimi.

The groups trudged along under the light of the waning moon, persistent in their search. If anyone was more worried than Matt, it was Palmon. Gabumon had always been a companion, and now that their humans were spending more time together, he was becoming a little..more..than a friend. She smiled at that thought before turning back to the task at hand.

As her vines swept the dust along the path, a quiet sound reached her ears. A frightened whimper. "Gabumon?" She queried softly. When she received no reply, she carefully moved towards the sound. When it sounded close by, she gently pulled back the bushes to reveal Gabumon, curled in a ball with his eyes closed, hands covering his head. "Gabumon!" she said excitedly as relief flooded through her. There was no response to her exclamation, except for Gabumon's continued whimpering. "Gabumon?" she asked, creeping closer and putting a hand on his shoulder. He flinched at the touch, then slowly opened one eye. 

"Is he gone?" Gabumon asked, a tinge of fear in his voice. "Who?" "Orionmon" "Yes.." At this statement, he opened both eyes and rested against the tree, visibly relieved. "Why do you ask?" she said. He tensed for a moment and turned away from her. "I'd rather not say," he replied bitterly. "Why? You know you can tell me Gabumon. I'm your friend." Gabumon let out a long sigh, then turned around again. " Your not going to let me go until I tell you, are you?" He asked slightly cynically. "Nope" she quipped quickly(try saying that 3x fast!) He rolled his eyes, knowing that no matter how stubborn he was, she could be twice as hardheaded. "I'll tell you later," the wolf said as he headed back towards camp. Palmon just sighed and followed him. 'I could help you, Gabumon but only if you let me.'


	2. Past revealed

Note: Anything in Italics is what the character is thinking. Things surrounded by *'s are memories. I don't own them, except Orionmon is my creation. 

Disclaimer: Yeesh, has it really been a year already? Many thanks for your patience. You know the drill. 

Gabumon's POV

Was this trail always this long? I mean, I don't think I ran more than maybe half a mile. 'Before you collapsed in a frightened heap' my brain finishes for me. I wince in self-loathing. I am such a wuss! Running away at the first site of him. Again…

I think it's the silence that is making the trail seem so long. Palmon hasn't said a word since she found me in the clearing. Why did I promise to tell her what was wrong? And…Why is she walking so close to me?

I give myself a mental slap. Stupid! She would never be interested in a 'friady-cat like you! er, wolf. 

Still, I can feel my selfgetting hot and my cheeks turning red. Palmon is so beautiful, sometimes I can't stand it. 

I can see the clearing up ahead. It's strange, but I'm kind of sad. I enjoyed walking with Palmon…just the two of us…alone...

3rdperson.

"Gabumon!" Matt yelled in excitement at the site of his Digimon and wrapped Gabumon in a big bear hug. Gabumon lovingly returned the embrace, feeling guilty about making his partner so worried.

Palmon walked up to her partner. "What are you guys doing back so early?" she asked Mimi.

"Well, Tai thought it would be a good idea if some of us stayed here, in case Gabumon came back. Then you two showed up." Mimi smiled. Palmon nodded and watched the interactions of the other two in their party. The pair had walked to a quiet spot and were now talking fervently. She found herself smiling also as she settled against a tree to try and go back to sleep. 

It was inevitable that the morning's meal would be…awkward, to say the least. Everyone ate in almost complete silence, but Gabumon could feel his or her stares. More than once he'd caught his friends gawking, who would instantly look away, trying to focus their attention on something else. The wolf Digimon sighed inwardly and continued eating. It was Tentomon who finally broke the uneasy silence by asking, "Gabumon, why did you run away?"

Gabumon was so startled he almost choked on the piece of fruit he was currently eating. Everyone perked up at this, as if they had all wanted to ask that question but hadn't dared to. Izzy glared at his Digimon and lightly smacked him on the back of the head. Tentomon sweat dropped (he never **had** been one for subtlety). But now that the question was up in the air, something had to be done with it. 

" Yeah Gabumon, what happened to you back there." Agumon piped up sourly.

Gabumon's stomach started twisting it self in knots. Why did they need to know?_ Just because there's a kill-crazed Digimon from your past that is currently threatening your life and the lives of everyone on your team, no, they don't need to know!!_

"Please Gabumon," Palmon pleaded quietly, placing her hand on his knee. Gabumon felt the blood rush to his cheeks. " You promised." 

Oh, Stars...he **had** promised her yesterday hadn't he. He looked to his partner for support. Matt smiled sadly at him. Gabumon had felt so guilty about making his friend worry so, that he had told him the entire story last night. Gabumon looked around the circle, each face with a varying degree of worry on it. These were his friends, his teammates. He could trust them with the truth. And he could tell that the truth and nothing **but** the truth would satisfy them. 

To continue…. or not..

Continue! ^^ 

He closed his eyes, bracing himself for the flood of memories that came. The words came out before he knew it, more like he was narrating what he saw. 

"Did you ever wonder why we never passed through a Tsunomon village?" The digi-destined shook their heads. It had never crossed their minds. Gabumon smiled sadly.

"Well there is one, was one, once. It wasn't only Tsunomon, though, our village was filled with all stages, from Garurumon to Punimon. Our village was on the top of Mt. TenchiInu, on the west side of File Island."

Gabumon grinned at the memory. " It was a wonderful place to live. All the Digimon were peaceful and lived in harmony. There were always things to do and there were lots of other Tsunomon my age to play with. But then…" He paused, reaching one of the major turning points in the story. The other Digi-destined leaned in closer. 

" One day, we received news from a local village. It appeared that a new evil Digimon, a bountyhunter, had been created entirely out of black gears. He called himself Orionmon. " Gabumon's eyes narrowed as he spoke the name. " This was back before there were many evil Digimon around, Devimon had just started creating them. And as a bounty hunter, Devimon gave him a special command. He was to kill all the Agumon, Biyomon, Patamon, Gatomon, Gomamon, Tentomon, Palmon, and Gabumon that he could find." Gabumon said, point to each of his Digimon friends and himself, respectively. This news made the Digidestineds' eyes widen.

Izzy bit his lip and furrowed his brow. " Hmm. That means somehow, Devimon knew about which type of Digimon we would each get. I wonder how.."

Gabumon continued. " Anyway, apparently at the time Garurumon furs were worth…a lot..." He swallowed the lump in his throat and blinked back tears. " So he decided to attack our village first. It was… slaughter. Pure and simple slaughter, as we hadn't had time to arrange a defense. Orionmon attacked during the night, killing first the sentries, then moving through the town, skinning all the Garurumon he could find, killing all other stages. " It was at this point Gabumon began to shake. 

"We tried to fight back, but…but he was too strong. My mother took him head on and was fatally wounded in the effort."

*A small Tsunomon hops to the side of a beautiful Garurmon. It's mutters something before it breathes it's last, blood leaking from its' mouth. The Tsunomon nudges the body with tears in it's eyes before running into the forest, away from the smoking wreckage of what used to be a town* 

"She told me to run, that there was hope for vengeance as long as one Gabumon was alive. " The wolf Digimon could no longer stop the tears that ran along his cheeks, matting his fur. " And I did. I ran! Like the c-coward I was. My place was with pack, and yet I ran." His voice grew quiet as he said this and you could almost feel the rage radiating off of him. " Orionmon caught up with me. Stars know how, he caught up with me, after killing every one of my family and friends. And even then he mocked me. He'd sold the rest of them, but he kept.." 

Gabumon's voice cracked "...m-my mother's. He told me she was the prettiest Garurumon he'd ever killed. You don't know what it's like, being mocked by the creature who stands between you and ever seeing your family again." Izzy interrupted for a second time.

" I don't get it. After they were destroyed, wouldn't their data just go back to primary village?" 

He shook his head. " Orionmon stores the data in the staff the carries, to make himself more powerful. As far as I know, I'm the only Gabumon left in existence."

'Oh how horrible!' Palmon thought sympathetically. She couldn't imagine what it would be like, to be the only one of your kind on the entire planet. Palmon fiercely resisted the urge to hug her friend, fearing it would seem a bit too forward. She settled for a sympathetic smile. 

" And there I was, stuck between Orionmon and the waters bellow…" 

* Tsunomon runs to the edge of a cliff, looking obviously winded. Orionmon calmly steps towards him. " Jump" Orionmon tells him. " You might survive the rapids, but you will **never** survive me." Tsunomon cowers until Orionmon's patience runs out, kicking the Tsunomon over the ledge himself, with one strong flick of a hoof. " Come back when you have become a worthy opponent!"*

"The water was _so_ cold. Of course, I couldn't swim, so I passed out soon. But then.."

* Tsunomon tries desperately to keep his head above water, but fails. The poor Digimon is drug along in the undertow until a green paw pulls him out of the water. Tsunomon coughs up water for sometime before looking up into the face of his rescuer. It is a Tanemon. Tsunomon coughs some more and collapses from exhaustion. *

" The next thing I knew, I was at Gennai's house, and the rest you already know. " Gabumon leaned back against the tree, emotionally weary from telling his story twice in little more than 12 hours. Matt wrapped an arm around his Digimon. There was silence for a moment, before Agumon spoke up. 

" And your just telling us this now?!" Agumon said, a bit too harshly. 

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you my entire life story before, Agumon," Gabumon said sarcastically. " But I didn't think it was of any importance until now."

" Not important! You have a kill-crazed Digimon on your heels that could put us all in danger, and you think it's not important?!?!" 

Gabumon bristled. " It's not like I expected to see him again! At least, not this soon." Agumon was getting madder by the second. 

" That's not the point! Friends don't keep secrets from friends!!" 

Tai put a hand on Agumon's shoulder. " Calm down. Yeesh, you're starting to sound like me!" Gabumon turned to walk away, muttering insults under his breath.

"You really are a coward," Agumon muttered angrily. 

Who knew that five simple words could unleash such ire. Gabumon turned on his friend and stared at him, the ice in his gaze making even Tk shiver. Agumon's clear green eyes met Gabumon's dark red, matching his stare in chill. " I shouldn't have to repeat myself. " Agumon said, eyes unwavering. Gabumon's ears lay back on his head and without even a cry of revenge, dove onto the yellow dinosaur, using his bulk to wrestle him to the ground. Agumon was only too happy to receive him, using his tail to try and trip the larger Digimon. 

"What the heck are you two doing?" Matt cried, trying to grab his Digimon from the rising pile of dust. Eventually Tai and Matt snared their partners off the ground and struggled to hold them back. Neither Digimon had escaped the short brawl unscathed, Gabumon noticed a few new bruises and Agumon had three nice gashes in his cheek. "You two are friends, you shouldn't be fighting like this!" The deep irony of the situation was not lost on the boys and they gave each other embarrassed smiles. Gabumon and Agumon continued to combat their captors. 

"You try seeing your entire village destroyed, then see how brave you are!"

"Braver than you, at least."

"How would you know? Orionmon never got around to attacking your village. Or any of the others, for that matter. "

"At least I would have gone down fighting!"

"Even if it was your mother's last wish?!"

Agumon spat in the dirt. " Your mother got what she deserved."

Gabumon leapt forth with renewed anger and it took the combined strength of Matt, Mimi and Palmon to keep him from ripping out the other Digimon's throat. 

"You know he's just trying to get you riled up. Be the better 'mon Gabumon." Matt whispered, surprising himself a little with this statement. Gabumon stopped struggling and let his arms drop to his sides, ashamed. It seemed, on the issue of patience at least, that the pupil had become the teacher. "You are right Matt. We've been acting like hatchlings. I am sorry, Agumon."

The other Digimon did nothing to show his acceptance of this apology, and Gabumon felt the anger returning. But instead of releasing it onto his companion, he simply stalked off into the woods. "Maybe you should have stayed with them." Gabumon stopped cold, shaking for a moment before continuing on.

" First Matt left us, now he's leaving too. Like partner, like Digimon."

"Agumon!" Tai chastised, wondering why his Digimon had become so rude towards his best friend, of late. 

Matt lay against a felled tree, looking around at the barren spot of landscape where there once was thriving jungle. At least Gabumon wasn't taking out his anger on Agumon. " Don't you think it's time we head back to camp, it's getting dark!"

"Blue Blaster!" A large tree swayed for a moment, then tipped, cracked, and fell over. Nope, not yet. Gabumon then began tearing into the tree, ripping it to shreds in blind anger. 

Matt closed his eyes, listening to the splintering of wood. As he listened, the sound began to grow louder, until it magnified into a thunderous clamor of shredding wood. One Digimon shouldn't be able to make _that_ much noise. Matt opened his eyes, realizing now that the sound was coming from the direction of camp. "Do you hear that?" 

Gabumon didn't bothering looking up, simply continuing with the tree's destruction.

Matt jogged a short distance from the clearing, the noise getting louder as he grew closer, hoping to gain sight of camp. And he wasn't happy with what he saw. "Gabumon!" He yelled above the tumult, " It's Orionmon!" 

Gabumon's ears perked up and he ran over to get a look for himself. And in a tone, so low in frequency that only Gabumon could hear, came a chanting. 

" Of all Garurumon to slay, I'll find none fair as on that day. But now all that is left is one, that pretty she-Garuru's son." 

*Camp* 

"Shouldn't we wait for Gabumon and Matt to get back?" Mimi screamed in panic, barely dodging out of the way as another fireball flew by. 

" Let that flea bag stay out there! We've got our own skins to save!" Agumon yelled, feeling the changes of digivolution begin. 

"He does not have fleas!" Palmon cried in her friends defense, but she quieted too as the green light enveloped her, changing her first into Togemon, then Lillymon. 

"Aww, pretty flower, " Orionmon taunted, then snarled, raising his upper lip like a dog. "It will take more than pretty posies to get in my way. " MetalGreymon smiled as the mix of champions and ultimates surrounded the centaur. " Don't worry, we came prepared." 

(A/n: Uh-oh! He's back!(Again!) Hehe. :-P Will Gabumon come back and face his fears? Or will the group have to fight w/o him? Tune in next time! Which hopefully won't be another year from now. -.-;; GaP for ever!)


	3. Faceing fears

Disclaimer: A.s.d.a., but I own Orionmon and other things of my own creation. Ok, this part jumps around a bit from Gabumon to Palmon and vice versa, so ****** these things will indicate scene change. Just to let you know. (But seeing as Nefertanya will probably be the only one to read this, I shouldn't have to worry too much -.-)

************************************

"One, two, three.." Orionmon counted one his fingers, up to seven. " Seven, I must say, such a nice, round number, wouldn't you say, my dear? " He winked at Lillymon who scrunched up her nose and backed away. 

"Seven has worked for us before.." Wargreymon growled, alluding to the time before they found the 8th child. 

"Oh, I didn't mean it was lucky number for you. I meant it for me." He grabbed Lillymon by the arm. "Listen my pretty orchid, if you come with me I will spare your life. You may even become my bride." 

Lillymon struggled to get away. "As if I would ever marry you, you creep!"

He twisted her arm to the point where she yelped in pain.

"I don't think you understand the severity of the situation, dear. Unless you going me, you will die with this rag-a-muffin group of Digimon, here and now!"

"I'll die with my friends then." Lillymon stated simply. He tried to kiss her and she spat in his eye. 

****

"Gabumon! Gabumon, come on!" 

" I'm sorry Matt, I truly am," Gabumon replied from the ball he had curled himself into, much like when Palmon had found him the previous evening. " I just...I just can't face him again." He said, voice cracking. " I am a coward." 

Matt's expression softened and he knelt in front of his friend. 

" No, you're not, Gabumon. You're probably the bravest Digimon I know." Matt smiled. " After taking on MetalMyotismon, this guy should be a piece of cake. "

Gabumon looked up at his partner and blinked. " I know you're scared, but that's never stopped you before! Think of it this way: This is the chance you've been waiting for! You can finally get the revenge you've been wanting for years." 

Gabumon narrowed his eyes. His human partner was correct. Revenge could be his; he could finally complete what his mother had instructed so long ago. 

Gabumon got to his feet, an almost sadistic smile on his face. "Ready?"

Matt smiled and unhooked his digivice from his belt. " Howl away, wolf man."

"Gabumon digivolve to..Gabumon digivove to…." 

Gabumon tried to focus, but his anger kept him from concentrating. There was also a twinge of fear, as he realized he wasn't digivolving.

'Think about your friends, now, so you can digivolve.' His brain rationalized. '**Then** you can be angry and let out all your fury on Orionmon.' 

*****

To say things were going badly would have been the understatement of the year. Four of the seven warriors had been already forced to de-digivolve, leaving only Angemon, the re-digivolved Wargreymon, and Lillymon. 

"This doesn't make sense!" Izzy cried. " He's only an ultimate! WarGreymon should be able to easily defeat him." Lillymon shook her head sadly.

" Remember what Gabumon told us? He's kept all the data of all his vanquished in his staff. That's maybe the data of, say, two hundred Digimon, maybe more! With that staff, Orionmon is more powerful than all eight of us together."

"Seven." Wargreymon growled under his breath, only loud enough for the other two airborne Digimon to hear him. If Angemon's visor had not been in place, there would most definitely have been a hole in the dinosaur's armor from the glare Angemon was giving him. Patamon spent more time with Gabumon than a lot of Digimon, and yet he couldn't understand Agumon's sudden anger at him. But the situation was precarious and he didn't have long to entertain such thoughts.

"Go for his staff!" Tai finally deduced. " It's his main power source!"

" Hand of Fate!"

"Terra force!"

"Flower cannon!"

Orionmon twirled his walking staff like a baton for a shield, deflecting each attack as he had done for the entire battle. Lillymon narrowly dodged as Wargreymon's terra force came back her direction as the dinosaur Digimon settled down to earth.

"Constellation blast!" Orionmon shouted when he touched down and a flurry of what appeared to be stars flew from his hands, flying neatly over Wargreymon's head. 

" Missed." He taunted.

Orionmon smirked. " Now, THAT depends on what I was aiming for." He said, as 

the stars landed with tremendous force, each one exploding as it hit the ground. The result was a wave of trees that literally sprang into the air and landed on top of a very surprised Wargreymon. "Ack!" He struggled to free himself from the crushing load. As Wargreymon struggled and strained, Orionmon continued. 

" Lion's blast!" Several of the beams of light flew around Wargreymon, bursting and sending the dinosaur Digimon flying as the earth beneath him exploded, forcing him to de-digivolve back to Koromon, cuts and bruises covering him. 

(a/n: *Miyo runs out * He deserved it!!-.-; *hugs Gabumon plushy and goes back to typing.) 

" I got ya, buddy!" Tai yelled as he ran to catch his partner. Koromon let out a little sigh in Tai's arms, and the digidestined hugged his partner reassuringly. " It's ok, Koromon, I know you did your best. It'll be ok." He looked up to see Orionmon advancing and retreated as far as he could, as quickly as possible. 'I just wish someone would reassure **me** of that!' He thought, as he glared at the centaur-like Digimon. 

Suddenly, a howl sounded from deep in the forest, giving a shiver to all whom heard. It was unlike any howl that anyone was familiar with. In this howl, you could almost **feel** the power of its creator. More like shadow than flesh, MetalGarurumon leapt into view, Matt riding with him in one fluid motion. 

Orionmon actually smiled. "Glad you could join us," he said, as casually as if it had been a tea party he was talking about and not a battle. "Can't say much for your punctuality though. We've been having **so** much fun." He looked back at Tai who had by now climbed a nearby tree in an effort to escape his tormentor. "Weren't we?" Tai just snarled at him.

MetalGarurumon growled harshly. " At least I'm here. Which is more than I can say for where you'll be when this is over." 

"Well, we're certainly full of ourselves aren't we. Care to show me what you've learned since we last met?" MetalGarurumon leapt into the sky with the other two Digimon. 

"My pleasure. Ice wolf claw!" The blast of ice encompassed Orionmon entirely, but before anyone could cheer, the head of Orionmon's staff started to glow, melting the freezing attack.

" If this is what I've been waiting for all these years for, I should say that I am grotesquely disappointed!" 

"I'm just getting warmed up." The metalwolf challenged, flying in low a shot at Orionmon's back. And so began their personal game of cat and mouse (although, who was who in that regard couldn't be determined.) MetalGarurumon growling angrily, Orionmon standing calmly by, blocking each attack. Lillymon and Angemon were at a loss about what to do, wanting to help, but not wanting to risk injuring their friend. MetalGarurmon snorted as another attack missed its intended target. He knew he wasn't thinking clearly..but how is one supposed to think clearly when one is so filled with rage and utter contempt!

As MetalGarurmon swung low for another trial sideswipe attack, Orionmon shot out his fist, more like a whip than flesh and bone, jolting MetalGarurumon out of the air by the scruff of his neck. The metal wolf growled but in his present state, could do nothing. Orionmon spun him, much like you would do with a slingshot, and fired, letting his opponent sail into the nearest tree, MetalGarurumon's momentum stopped painfully quickly. 

The large wolf groaned and sunk to the ground, transforming back into his rookie form. Gabumon struggled to all fours, panting. He knew he had been out of control, letting his anger take over, and now they would all have to pay the price of his hard-headedness. 

"I'm sorry, mother. I've failed." He sniffed. Tears of despair and shame rose in his eyes, running off the end of his muzzle. The drops fell to the ground, creating dark spots on the ground. He had failed, failed his mother, and now his friends and… No…He blinked and took in a deep breath. A new resolve strengthened inside of him and he impatiently wiped the drops of his nose. No, No! He had apologized more than enough for one day, for things that were mostly out of his control. Feeling sorry was **not **going to help the situation. 

A scream made Gabumon jerk his head up quickly. Lillymon had been sent hurtling backwards, transforming to Palmon in mid-air. She hit the ground with a loud "Whumpf!" and rolled to a stop. "Palmon!" Gabumon and Mimi screamed in unison. It was at that moment Gabumon felt a lace of pain run up his arm. Matt was hurt, he didn't know why he hadn't noticed it before. 

Quickly searching the campground, he spotted his partner with T.K. and Angemon, and although he was favoring one arm, Matt seemed to be ok over all. Gabumon looked back at Palmon, who was currently trying to get the air back into her lungs after having it slammed out of her, and Orionmon, who was advancing towards her. Matt would be safe with his brother and Angemon. Mimi…wouldn't get to Palmon in time. He was the closest. Gabumon started to run.

***

"Last one down, first one to go, eh, Palmie?" Palmon glared at the Digimon, furious. "My last offer, come with me now or perish…"

" I would never go with you!" Palmon shouted, enraged. "And don't call me 'Palmie'!" Orionmon clucked his tongue. 

"You're choice. But it is such a pity." 

"Poison storm." He said, barely above a whisper. But at first, nothing happened. Then, thousands of tiny needles as fine as individual hairs seemed to appear out of midair and with growing momentum, twisted and focused themselves into a beam of spray heading right for the plant Digimon. Palmon held up a paw in a vain attempt to shield herself and closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable. A few seconds passed and she felt nothing. She cautiously opened one eyelid then screamed.

"Gabumon!No!" And there he was, standing in front of her, arms spread, taking the full brunt force of the attack. The needle-like wind whipped the edges of his fur and stung his eyes, but he remained steadfast.

"Gabumon, what are you doing?!" It ever occurred to her to run to safety, Palmon was too worried about her friend to think about herself. "Please, don't..do this," she cried softly.

The wolf Digimon heard her, but was unable to respond, except in his thoughts. 

__

But I have to do this..Don't you see Palmon? Even if I die, now I know that I'll have done something worthwhile..

And so he stayed, seeing this as the end and wanting to sell his life as dearly as possible.

Gabumon felt his energy ebb away, slowly at first then faster and faster, until he knew any moment from now he would revert to Tsunomon and then…he didn't want to think about it. Risking one last glance over his shoulder, he saw Palmon, sobbing into her hands. I love you, he mouthed to her, then turned as he felt himself growing smaller.

Sora gasped from where she was cradling a weary Yokomon as her crest began to glow fiercely. The red beam grew, but instead of over her digimon, the red light swept over Gabumon, falling around him like a blanket. Gabumon closed his eyes, reveling in the feeling. It was warmth that he had temporarily forgotten, the love his mother had had for him, the love he felt for his friends and partner and one Digimon in particular… The red glow rejuvenated him and filled him with a feeling so strong, he just had to let it out some how, so he threw back his head and 

Howled a howl that shook the forest.

"AARRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Gabumon digivolve to…Garurumon!" The children gasped. Even Orionmon was a bit startled at this turn of events. Garurumon blinked unbelievingly and held a paw up to his face. But it was true, he was back to his Champion. 

"Now matter. You were useless as a mega, I doubt your champion form will be an harder to defeat!" 

"You might not say that once I get rid of **this!**" Garurumon pounced and grabbed the wooden staff between his teeth. " It's time to even the playing field!" He yelled, yanking the stick out of Orionmon's hands with one swift tug. He tossed it to Matt, who caught it with his good arm. 

"I can still..still defeat you!" Orionmon stuttered. But as he said this, he stumbled backwards a bit, suddenly not so sure of himself.

The blue wolf shook his head slowly, sagely. "No, Orionmon, you cannot win. Evil will never triumph over good. You only defeated me before because I was fighting for the wrong reasons, I understand that now. My anger hindered me, but the love of my friends will defeat you." For once, Orionmon had nothing to say. 

The two combatants circled each other, like a pair of lions, each trying to sum up the others strengths and weaknesses before letting loose an attack.

"Poison storm!" "Howling blaster!"

The two masses of color collided with an explosive blast, one mass blue, the other yellow. They fluctuated every so often, to one side, before the other party recovered enough and then they were back where they started. But then, slowly, gruelingly slowly, the blue began to seize ground. Inch by inch the yellow shrunk, until it had all but all but disappeared into the hands of its maker. With one last burst of energy, Garurumon increased his attack power, making the icy wave crashing into Orionmon with enough impact to make the centaur's knees buckle and send him tumbling. 

He made a useless attempt to get his footing but it seemed his legs no longer obeyed him. The bounty hunter made no death speeches or cries of revenge as his data disconfigured, only glared at the one Garurumon, that puny Tsunomon from so long ago that had beaten him. After defeating so many others, it was a cruel irony.

Garurumon watched as the last of Orionmon's data floated away. The danger had passed for now. The great wolf sighed, long and heavy, but as if the weight of the world had been lifted and shrank back to his rookie form, exhausted. 

"May I do the honors?" Matt asked, holding up the staff. Gabumon nodded and Matt snapped it in half over his knees. The others gasped as a swirl of silvery blue shot out of the two broken pieces, rocketing towards the sky and continuing

until even the staff was gone. A tired smile light Gabumon's face.

"It's very pretty." Mimi knelt beside Gabumon as he ran a hand along the Garurumon pelt. It had fallen off of Oriomon's shoulder during the fight and now lay in Gabumon's arms. 

"Yes," he smiled tiredly. "But it looks better on her." 

"Of course." She replied quietly and they watched in silence as the pelt soon joined the rest of the data in the sky, as it traveled towards Primary Village to be reborn. It would take some time, but soon, he wouldn't be the only one anymore. Gabumon was thankful for that. Mimi wrapped Gabumon in a big bear hug. "This is from me," she explained and kissed his cheek. " And that's from Palmon." Gabumon flushed red and put a paw to his cheek. 

" What's that for?" Mimi smiled and hugged him again. "For saving Palmon silly! You were incredible and we both thank you. " She finished sincerely.

__

We both? He looked around, Palmon was no- wait, she was there, barely visible from her hiding spot behind a tree several yards away. She looked up at him and their eye's locked. "You're welcome." He said, more to Palmon than to Mimi. Palmon smiled. 

"I just don't get it!" The red headed genius cried, slouched over his laptop. It was evening of that same day and, although thankful the ordeal was over, Izzy remained curious. "How in the world did Gabumon do that? Trigger the crest of Love, I mean." Izzy pondered. " Quite an enigma, as each crest is genetically 'tied' to its owner and respective Digimon." 

"And that's why Myostismon wanted Kari so badly. He knew he couldn't get the crest of light to work without her." Tai mused.

"Exactly! The question is: How did Gabumon break through the genetic 'tag'? The crest of Love is tied specifically to Sora and Biyomon, and as far as we know, A Digimon can't evolve with a different partner." 

"But, the crests are all emotions or character traits right?" 

"Right…" Izzy said, not really knowing where Tai was going with this. 

"Well, maybe if one of the Digimon themselves is feeling that emotion or trait strong enough, it triggers the crest." Izzy pondered this thought. 

"It sounds good in theory, but it's not very probable."

"Maybe it's just what we think it was. " Sora said, sitting down next to the two boys. " A miracle. Not everything can be explained scientifically, Izzy."

"Maybe not, but I can sure try!" 

Palmon looked up from the fire, where she had been listening to the conversation and a queer thought popped into her head. She followed Tai's logic, but that would mean…

"That he battled out of friendship, but protected me out of…love?" Palmon whispered quietly to herself, feeling immediately ashamed for saying so. Love, for her? Preposterous! What had she ever done to deserve his love. And yet… The facts he remained the same. Gabumon had risked his life for her. Why?

She looked over to where he was sleeping, peacefully, beneath the branches of a pink Yaba tree. The poor tired thing deserved every ounce of sleep he could get. Palmon sighed a little. Had it really only been 24 hours since Orionmon had come, turning Gabumon's world upside down then back again? Life was never dull in the digital world!

Gabumon snored in his sleep and Palmon giggled. It looked like her questions would have to wait until morning. Again. A gut instinct pulled her back quiet suddenly and she frowned. In her heart (And the pit of her stomach) she felt it.

A feeling inside that would not let her enjoy the moment. This feeling that said although the enemy had been defeated, something was very wrong…**deathly** wrong…

(A/N: Yes, that does mean more to come…*Hears people scream in background*)


	4. Epilogue

(Already said disclaimer)

Gabumon tossed and turned in his sleep. He tossed and turned again and then, for a change of pace, rolled completely over, looking for a cool place on the ground. 

Palmon awoke with a start, not because of a noise, but rather, lack of it. Gabumon and Agumon were known as the two biggest snorers of the Digimon, but tonight she couldn't hear Gabumon's low, bass sounding one.

Gabumon shivered and despite the warm night, wrapped his fur pelt even more tightly around himself. 

The plant Digimon got up and knelt beside him, placing a hand on his forehead. Gabumon whined in his sleep and shied away from the cold touch, although he was terribly warm. Palmon brought her hand up sweaty, as her slight concern turned to fear. She was good with healing plants, that was a given, but she could tell that this would take more than herbs to remedy. 

She ran to the side of the one person she knew could help more than the others and began to shake his shoulder. "Joe, Joe wake up!" She continued shaking his shoulder with growing urgency when he didn't wake up. "Joe!Joe!!" 

(No, he's not dead -.-;) 


End file.
